NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Everyone knows the Cinderella story as it relates to the NHL playoffs.

Teams rise up seemingly out of nowhere to enjoy unimagined success. Players with little or no profile or pedigree lead their teams or save their teams or impact games and series that no one could have foretold. It is a well-worn it not overused dramatic device.

But do you know the one about how Cinderella goes down with an undisclosed injury on the way to the ball and has to be replaced by the Hamburglar?

Now that is a story worth celebrating. That is a story that demands attention.

And so it shall be in Game 5 of the opening round series between the NHL’s best regular season team, the Predators, and the gritty, upstart Avalanche that Colorado will pin its hopes of surviving on third-string netminder Andrew Hammond, “The Hamburglar.”

Not that saving seasons is all that new to Hammond, who was acquired from Ottawa in the three-way trade...